First Encounters
by fofofi
Summary: They meet. He screams. She screams. Subject of the argument? A cat.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hiya, guys. A thousand apologies for being MiA since so long, life's been crazy busy. And it is my last year of university so it will continue to be so for some time now. Basically, let's just forget about any updates on _Hello, Princess!_, okay? I'm probably going to pull it all down and rewrite it or something if I get a chance; I'm not really sure, tbh. I feel like I'm better off doing one-shots and maybe short follow-ups of those instead of taking up the responsibility of writing a fully fledged chaptered fic which I might not be able to finish. Anyway, this is something I typed up on my cell; it's sort of inspired by real life events? Ha. It isn't properly edited so let me know if any mistakes pop out. I also honestly don't know why the title is what it is, it just is. But. Read it. And hopefully like and review it?

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><p><strong>In which our favourite couple have their first argument<br>**

'No. Shush. Belle, it's okay, it's just the stupid fireworks,' she tried to calm down her six months old kitten who was running around the apartment, her fur on end, like she usually did when she was scared.

Elizabeth, her carer - for "owner" was such an insulting word towards herself and her darling baby, she did not _own_ any living creature let alone this adorable furry being who made her life brighter - picked her up and cradled her in her arms. She brought her too close to her face which turned out to be a mistake. Another bunch of fireworks being set off, more noise and now Belle was waving her paws about and one sharp nail came in contact with her face. Elizabeth winced in pain and dropped the kitten who landed perfectly on her four feet and walked away. She wondered over her clumsy actions and a cat's ability to ... but quickly shook her head. She could feel her right cheek growing sticky; the cut must have been quite deep if so much blood was pouring out.

She did trim Belle's nails twice a month. It really wasn't her fault if she had ended up with a kitten with extra sharp nails that seemed to grow overnight. Maybe she should start making it a weekly habit. But right now she needed to clean up and see just how bad it was.

The brunette walked to her bathroom and peered into the mirror above the sink. There was a streak of blood, very red blood, on her cheek. She hurriedly grabbed a couple tissue papers and mopped it up to see the injury better. She sighed. It looked pretty deep. And it was still bleeding even though the flow had slowed down. She splashed water on her face, trying to properly clean up. Then she took a piece of tissue, folded it up in squares and held it next to her cut, applying pressure to stop the flow while she looked into the medicine cabinet for whatever items she could use. She emerged a couple minutes later with a bottle of disinfectant, cotton swabs and a pack of Band-Aids. She knew she should probably head to a doctor and get it checked just in case but she really could not be bothered. This wasn't the first scratch and it wouldn't be the last. She couldn't rush to a clinic every time Belle decided to act up or there was an incident. She was not badly broke but she couldn't afford these extra expenses either. She was, after all, just a third year university student with a part-time job that didn't pay her much.

Elizabeth threw the now bloodied tissue in the waste basket and set about to fixing herself up. A dab of disinfectant which stung a lot more than she was expecting it to, covering the cut with a Band-Aid, and she was done. She looked at the mirror in front of her once again. It did look okay, nothing serious. Shrugging, she put the things back in their respective places, washed her hands and exited the bathroom to see where her naughty kitty had wandered off to.

She didn't have to look for her - Belle really could find the best hiding spots when she was in the mood. The kitten walked to her and started rubbing herself around her carer's legs, aware that what she had done a few moments ago had hurt her. Elizabeth bent down to pick the bundle up but was careful not to bring her too close to her face. The fireworks had stopped and Belle was no longer antsy now but she knew she should let this wound heal before she let herself be inflicted with another. She was also aware that this realisation would be short-lived; she'd be back to nuzzling the kitten in just a little while. But for now she really needed to get ready to visit her parents and leave on time before her paranoid mother started leaving her voice-mails.

...

'DUDE. What happened to you?'

Elizabeth inaudibly sighed. Smiling outwardly, she explained, 'Side effects of having a furry, four legged creature with claws for a companion'.

She hoped he wouldn't ask any more questions. She didn't remember how many times she had already relayed the story to all her friends, acquaintances and even random passerby's. It had all been okay when she had been using the Band-Aid. Everyone had ignored the injury. But now that she had removed it, she was being stopped by everyone and drilled about its existence.

'But -,' Adrian continued but she interrupted him before he could ask about the whys and hows.

'Hey, sorry, gotta run. I have to get a book from the library before someone else gets their hands on it.' Laughing, she hurriedly walked away, keeping her head low, wondering if she had an extra Band-Aid in her bag. If she put it back on, surely it would stop all the queries. However, it was not to be as she saw her bleached hair friend approaching. This time she audibly sighed because she knew it would not be taken in an offensive manner.

'Hi, Sarah.'

'Oh my GOD, ELIZABETH! What did you do to yourself?' the blonde questioned, her eyes running over her friend's face which had quite a visible and deep scab on the right cheek. A little bit of worry, a bit of amusement in her eyes.

Always dramatic, that one, and Elizabeth needed a distraction so she carried on with the show.

'She clawed me! She clawed me.' Elizabeth fake sobbed. 'I love her so much and she got into one of her fits and….' Inwardly, the woman smiled. This was fun. She should apply for the drama society, put her talent to work. She looked at Sarah who was trying to hide a chuckle. Aware that her friend knew she was just playacting, she continued, 'I love her so much. So much'. She rubbed her eyes. 'It's not her fault. She was just tensed. She only does this when she's tensed.'

Sarah played along and moved forward to hug her friend. She rubbed her back, all the while trying to hold in her laughter but Elizabeth could feel her shake. The hug was broken soon, however, as a guy with jet black hair, wearing a brown leather jacket brushed by them. More like charged straight into the two, nudged them apart, and then walked away without apologising.

'Jerk,' Elizabeth muttered.

'Yeah,' Sarah agreed. 'How dare he ruin such a poignant moment? Look at you! Victim of domestic abuse and he doesn't care at all.'

The brunette laughed again. 'Sorry, it's just everyone's been asking me about it and I'm tired of telling people what happened. It was Belle.'

'I figured. Give me some credit; I've known you since quite a while now.'

'Yeah, well, doesn't seem like it. We are meeting after how long exactly? Come with me, I do have to go to the library. You don't have a class right now, do you?'

'Nopeee,' she replied, popping the p. 'Let's go.' And, hand in hand, they went.

...

'YOU! What is wrong with you?' It was the same rude man who had bumped into her earlier.

Elizabeth wondered if she should bother replying. Maybe he wasn't talking to her, he didn't even know her. Well, she knew she didn't know him even though she was sure she had seen him around the campus before today's events. His faced looked familiar. A face which was turned towards her, jaw clasping and unclasping - something she normally found attractive but not when it was an insane man screaming at her for no reason at all. A vein in his forehead had started to throb now.

She walked forward; hand raised and did something which surprised them both. She touched the vein, and the man stiffened and immediately stepped back. But she continued to stare at it, fascinated, even though the man was now more confused than angry and the vein was nowhere in sight.

Recovering her senses, she removed her hand and folded her arms. The man seemed to relax a little. And then he opened his mouth again. 'Are you mad?'

She had been looking at his eyes and black, floppy hair and sculpted jaw but the moment he opened his mouth, the fascination vanished into thin air. He may be pretty on the outside - and, yes, she was fair-minded enough to admit he was pretty... well, gorgeous really - but so far all he had managed to do was show a distinct lack of manners. And piss her off.

'Excuse me?'

'Oh, she's slow, too,' he muttered under his breath but she caught the comment and glared at him.

She turned to leave. She didn't know him, all he had done was insult her and she really did not owe him any answers. So she walked away. Well, she tried to. She would have succeeded if he hadn't held her arm in a firm grasp. Strangely enough, his touch was soft. She wouldn't have to worry for lasting bruising. She shrugged, it would be better to get this done and over with.

'Yes?' This said in a suffering voice.

The man was silent but his spoke volumes. If looks could kill…. This time it was he who lifted his hand and gently brushed it under the scab, careful not to touch it. And for that she was grateful. It didn't pain anymore but still hurt slightly if she laughed too hard or if her hand came in contact with her injury. But why was a stranger touching her? And she was about to ask him just that before she remembered that she had done the same thing to him. She did, however, move back, displacing his hand from her person.

'Why?' he asked and she wondered what he was on because she didn't really do drugs but for Those Times this one could come very useful as long as there someone sober to look after her. The man was completely out of it!

'I'm sorry?'

'Do you like being abused? Aren't you an independent, educated woman? Do you not have a job? I could give you a job. Is it money you want? I'll give you money. Why are you with her when she treats you in such a way? Are you so utterly incapable of being on your own that you refuse to leave her even if she treats you like shit?' He was on a rant now. Going on and on about things which made no sense, amusing her and - at the same time - making her angry as well. But he carried on and she continued to listen, finally deciding that no, she would not like to meet up with his drug provider. She didn't want to make such a fool of herself even with her friends.

'Are you done?' was all she said because, really, he had asked him a bazillion questions so, of course, she had to respond back with a question of her own.

'Yes.' He was fuming. Actually fuming. She could see him clenching his hands into fists, unclenching them and back again. Clearly, he needed someone who would look after him.

'It was Belle,' she said except, of course, it didn't make any sense to him.

'I know,' he said with the voice of a man drained out of all patience. 'Are you bisexual? Please tell me you aren't a lesbian. Even though...' and he stopped before finishing his thought.

'Belle is my cat,' she bit out, now thoroughly annoyed. 'And I'm not in the habit of discussing my sexual preferences or my manner of living with complete strangers considering it's none of their business.' She smiled grimly.

'Oh,' was all he said, right hand sifting through the full head of black hair.

'I don't know if you screamed at me because you're high or just because you're ... you but -.'

'I'm not high,' he managed to get out.

'Well, can't blame it on the drugs then. I'd say it was nice to meet you but it really wasn't. Let's just agree to walk in the opposite direction if we ever come across each other in the campus. Good bye.'

'But...,' he tried but couldn't seem to form a full sentence.

She waited for a couple minutes for an explanation but when she saw the man just continued to give her blank stares, she turned around and walked away. All she wanted to do was go home and cuddle with the devil who had unknowingly been the reason behind the drama. Not that she would ever blame her.

As Elizabeth Bennet strode forward, William Darcy remained rooted at the spot trying to figure out how he had so perfectly managed to muddle up his first actual meeting with the girl whom he had liked from a distance since oh-so-long.

He sighed. Clearly, he needed help. He thought of his sister and all the teasing that he would have to suffer through if he told her about the incident. But Gia was probably the only one who could give him advice on how to fix the situation. And he really needed all the help he could get. With that thought in mind, he started walking towards his car, a smile on his face as he remembered how it had felt when she had willingly touched him. He shook his head, he was turning into a sap, but the action didn't have any effect on the smile. It only grew brighter and with hope in his heart, he climbed into his car and drove away.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> Dun, dun, dun. First thing I'm publishing after almost two years. Oops. Here's to writing more in the future. And to getting more reviews. ;) Also, I know I kinda, sorta suck at getting back to you guys but I have a half written follow-up of _Of Movie Nights and Pillow Fights_ lying around somewhere since many of you had asked for it. I'm going to try and get to that now. But if anyone has any ideas for a sequel to this one-shot, feel free to drop a review and/or a PM and if inspiration strikes… who knows?


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **LOOK! I do have something more and in less than a month too. Trust me; I'm more surprised than you are. This looks like a filler chapter but you did have to get introduced to other characters. And, um, this fic is marked as complete because it is. I'll add more chapters if I can – if I want to – but for now this is all there is. When – if – I post more, the story could be taking place a few months in the future (like they might be together), a few months in the past (like the first time Darcy started noticing Elizabeth), I'll just go where my head takes me. Hopefully you guys will stick with it and it might just end up turning into a complete, chaptered fanfiction after all. Which would be a first. Fingers crossed.

P.S. Thank you all for the reviews and the favourites and the story alerts. You all are the best!

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><p><strong>In which our favourite couple's siblings give them some advice <strong>

'You did _what_?'

He lifted his right hand; the thumb, fore and middle fingers automatically working on his temples; trying to get rid of the ache before it turned into a full-fledged migraine. He had just relayed the contents of the unfortunate meeting with Elizabeth to his sister and the conversation was not going the way he had hoped. He had thought she would laugh at him, tease him, but it seemed that she had trouble believing his story which meant that he had messed things up even more than he had imagined.

'William? Will? Brother?' she continued to nag.

He sighed. 'Yes, Gia. What I told you just now is true. I did do all that. Now is there any advice which I should look forward to from you or am I just going to get disbelieving looks?'

'Will, seriously?' And now, now she fulfilled his prediction and started laughing gleefully, her cerulean blue eyes shining.

'Not helpful.'

'I don't care. This is wonderful! This is hilarious. Why didn't you call Rich and Charlie over? It would have been twice as fun.'

'For you, not for me,' he said wryly. And when she continued to laugh, he added, 'Will you stop?'

'Yes. I -' and she burst into laughter again. Catching the glare her brother was giving her, she tried to subdue herself and succeeded to quite an extent. A few giggles still erupted now and then but it was definitely an improvement from before.

'Thank you.'

'I don't know what to say, Will. You eavesdropped on a conversation between two people whom you didn't even know. You misinterpreted it in the worse possible manner. You used that information to scream at someone who, I think it's safe to say, didn't know you. You judged her on a lot of things. And. You didn't apologise to her even though you got a chance. Cat got your tongue?' she asked and then laughed for the next couple minutes over the pun.

Her brother, however, did not find it amusing. 'I know what I did. You didn't have to summarise it for me.'

'You are an idiot. Just apologise to her the next time you see her. Keep it short and to the point since she wouldn't be willing to talk to you and, frankly, you suck at making small talk, you'd probably end up doing more harm thinking you were fixing things. Once that meeting is out of the way and her anger's hopefully cooled down a little, try to get to know her more. Little at a time, Will. This is not a business project you can figure out by skipping out on sleep. She is a person with feelings. It will take time.'

'I know that,' he snapped, annoyed at himself for being so utterly stupid. If his sister - who was five years his junior and, thus, less experienced with the ways of the world - could figure it out then why couldn't he? Why did he so completely, in her words, "suck" at this?

Gia got up from the one-seater she was on and to the couch her brother was, rather uncharacteristically, sprawled over. 'Hey.' She nudged his shoulder. 'It's okay. Learning from your mistakes and all that.'

'Thanks, Gia.' He laughed. His sister never could moralise for long, she almost always ended her supportive statements with "all that". He was surprised she hadn't said something along the lines of "second chances and all that", which would be what Elizabeth would be giving him if she ever managed to forgive him.

'Now get off your sorry ass and go to work, your cell's been blinking non-stop. I bet it's Dad.'

Those were the magic words which made the man immediately stand up, straighten his clothing, slip his socked feet in the shoes as he bent down to tie his laces. He ran his fingers a few times through his hair to fix the stray locks, picked up the blazer laid up on the chair and left the room, phone in hand.

He pressed "2" which was saved as his father's personal number on speed dial and waited for his call to be received.

'Will? Everything okay? You weren't answering your phone,' a calm voice responded.

'Yes, Dad. Sorry, I kind of lost track of time. You called, er, multiple times. Do you need me?'

'Oh, okay. Be careful though, son. It wasn't anything that serious this time but -'

Will rolled his eyes. He knew it was rude to interrupt someone but it was his father and he was just beginning to give him the same old lecture which he had heard repeatedly, understood and agreed with. 'Yes, Dad, I know. I need to show the board that I'm a responsible person, blah blah. I know. And you know this barely ever happens. I am a responsible person.'

He smiled as he heard a chuckle from the other end. 'Yes, I know. Please come over to my office as soon as you can. I need your opinion on some new information that's come out which would help making a decision regarding the LD Plastics takeover.'

'On my way, Dad. Just getting in the car.'

'Bye.'

'See you in a few.' Saying so, he ended the call and slid into his car, waving at his sister who had apparently followed him out.

...

'Oh, look. The scab's gone but the scar's still there. Does it still hurt?' Jane asked, her blue eyes crinkled with worry.

'Nah,' Elizabeth offhandedly replied. 'Just a leftover of my battle with the world's deadliest creatures.' She grinned. 'Speaking of which, have you seen Belle around?'

Her older sister smiled. 'She's sleeping on the coffee table. On top of your books. Well, on top of one book which you left open. She's all over it, looking absolutely adorable!'

'Of course, she is. I don't know how I get any work done. Whenever I sit down to study, she just climbs over the books and refuses to budge. Or the laptop. Anything really which takes away my attention from her. She is such a little spoiled brat.' Elizabeth tried to look annoyed as she ranted but both the sisters knew that it was just a front. Belle was a cutie and neither of them could deny her anything. As the phrase went, they were wrapped around her little ... paws. And what precious little paws they were. So small, so soft, so utterly adorable.

'That's like being in a relationship with a possessive boyfriend,' her sister teased.

'Ugh. Possessive boyfriends.' Elizabeth wrinkled her nose then started wiggling her eyebrows, a smile blooming on her face. 'And how is your Mr Oh-no-we-are-just-friends Bingley?'

Jane blushed but then Elizabeth knew she would. 'Lizzie. Don't make fun of Charlie,' she lightly reprimanded her.

'Don't ignore the question then.'

'He's great as always. And you would have known that too if you had not ditched us at the last minute yesterday. We had already bought your ticket too.' The blonde frowned.

'I'll reimburse it for you.' She raised an eyebrow knowing everyone from the group of attendees could have easily paid for it without worrying about the cost.

'You know that's not the point,' Jane argued, her slim fingers now pleating the edge of the scarf she had wound around her neck. It was something she did unconsciously when things went even slightly off.

'Yes, Jane. I know. I'm sorry I cancelled but I really needed to sleep. School's been crazy busy,' Elizabeth explained.

'I realise that, darling. I went through the same.'

Elizabeth smiled. Everyone thought Jane was a pushover because she was really sweet - and they weren't wrong, she was sweet, sickeningly so sometimes - but they didn't realise that she did not hold back her thoughts about things that mattered to her. She chose her battles and when she decided what was worth her full attention, she set to make it work in her favour. Jane subtly made remarks in a way that would convince the other person that they had come to that conclusion by themselves. It was a win-win situation really since everyone underestimated Jane too much to get a real read on her.

She, on the other hand, had more of a heads-on approach much to the regret of their mother. Mrs. Sophia Bennet constantly deplored of the state of her second daughter's mind and tongue. What thought came to her, she blurted out. The parent hoped Elizabeth would become a little less aggressive as she matured but it was the opposite that happened. However, whenever she did get in a debate with anyone, she made the conversation so lively, teased and argued in a way which won the other person's heart. They may not agree with her opinion but almost no one lost their patience with her. She did, after all, make valid reasons. Those topics she knew nothing about, she stayed away from. It made her very frustrated when people tried to bluff their way through conversations, trying to seem like intellectuals when they were, in fact, encouraging people to make fun of them.

'I know you have been very busy and I completely understand. But you must remember your other friends too, Lizzie. When they take out time from their work schedule, they expect you to do the same. Wouldn't you?' And the blue gaze turned to her tanned face.

This, she thought, grinning, was how she did it.

'I know, I know. It was very rude. I'll try my best never to pull that again,' she said.

Her sister smiled. Really, it took her two minutes to cool down not that she had even flipped the handle in the first place. 'So you'll come with us to the beach next Sunday?'

Jane Bennet also knew how to best use the current situation in her favour. Just a few choice words and viola. She had this almost annoying knack for saying the right thing at the right time.

'You sly creature, you.' But there was no malice in Elizabeth's voice. She was actually very proud of her sister. 'Of course, I'm coming. Sunday's free.'

'I know. That's why I picked it.' Smiling serenely - well, smugly but on Jane it looked serene - she lifted her mug of coffee and took another sip. Another battle won with no casualty. She mentally patted her back for a job well done.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes:<strong> So. Darcy's dad is still in the picture. His mom might be too, I haven't really decided yet. But now I have the option to kill them off and have Darcy brood even more.

No, no, I'm joking. Maybe. BUT. Do you like my Jane? I like my Jane. I'm trying to make the characters as different as possible from the other portrayals but also trying not to stray too far from the original. Am I succeeding? Do you like it?

Also. Like I said earlier, I don't have the time - mostly, I'm just a fantastic procrastinator who would rather read other people's stuff than write my own - to write the story play out day by day so if there's a particular scene that you'd like to read about, please mention that in the reviews (which I'm hoping you all will be leaving many of) and I'll see if I can do anything about that. Once again, thank you for the love.


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